Movie Review: The Green Mile (1999)

"The lives of guards on Death Row affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape yet who has a mysterious gift. 

      -Chris White-

Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) who is in charge of Death Row in block E Louisiana prison is a nice man, and his staff also compete and humane. Except the arrogant, stubborn Percy Wetmore (Dough Hutchinson) whose aunt is marry to the governor. Paul and his staff duty is to regulate a calm and decent condition in which men prepare to die but Percy is like infection in the ward, he's mean, careless, stupid and troublemaker.

One day, a new prisoner arrives. A gigantic black man named John Coffey (Michael Clark Duncan). He has been convicted of killing and raping two little white girls. But Paul thinks that John is innocent because he's soft-hearted, he's afraid of dark and he's had straightforward gesture not like a man with anything to be ashamed of. Then Paul known John has special gift to make the other people feel the past or future events and to heal any ilness include healing Paul's serious bladder infection. After Paul know the true story behind the arrest of John Coffey, he's struggling to prove that John is innocent.

Taking set in 1935 era. Called green mile because this death row has a green floor. Based on a novel by Stephen King and has been written and directed by Frank Darabot. This movie using flashback plot because at the beginning, the scene was old Paul Edgecomb told story about John Coffey to his friend, Elaine Conelly (Eve Brent) on the nursing house.

It's one of the most emotional movie I've ever seen (but its didn't succeed to make me cry) because the movie contains  lot of strongly emotional scene like when Mr. Jingles, one of the prisoner, Eduard Delacroix (Michael Jeter) rat died because Percy the rotten stomp on it, when Eduard Delacroix death row was sabotage by Percy and when the the true story about John Coffey was revealed.

The Green Mile is a fiction, crime, drama, fantasy,mystery movie. Its has been nominated 4 time for Oscars, won 13 awards and 28 other nomination. Release in USA, 10 December 1999. Got 3.5/4 rating in Roger Ebert, 80% in Rotten Tomatoes, 8.5/10 in IMDb prove that this is a good movie whether its little bit heavy and hard to understand. You also must have long free time to watch it because its 189 minutes movie.

Paul and John

Source: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-green-mile-1999